When I was growing up in New York, my mother made a version of light, fresh-tasting cheesecake that my family loved. After I became older and moved away from home, I would often order what was called “New York Style” cheesecake in restaurants, hoping for a dessert that that would come close to the memory I had of my mother’s heavenly version.

What I came to realize over the years was that “New York Style” cheesecake is not at all like the cheesecake that my used to make while we were living in New York. I could not understand why the restaurant cheesecake served to me often had an off flavor (can you say artificial ingredients?) and a texture that was heavy, and even gooey or sticky.

Of course, as I discovered when I finally asked my mother for her recipe, the reason the cheesecake I had at home was so different from what I found in restaurants was the type of cheese my mother used. The ricotta cheese that my mother would get freshly made from the Italian deli after church every Sunday yielded a delicious, light, and almost crumbly cheesecake, gently held together by a few fresh eggs, flavored lightly with vanilla and given a fresh taste with a bit of lemon zest. Which is not to say the other, more creamy versions made with cream cheese are not good if made with fresh ingredients. They are just not Italian ricotta cheesecake!

The Italian crust my mother makes for her ricotta cheesecake also yields another subtle layer of flavor. The method used to make the Italian version of a smaller fruit “crostata” or “tart” transfers to the thicker cheesecakes made in Italy. A “pasta frolla,” or “sweet pastry” crust lines the bottom of the tart and a lattice crust nicely decorates the top of the tart, and a true Italian cheesecake will have a lattice crust! The crust for this cheesecake is flavored with a bit of lemon zest and brandy, which nicely compliments the taste of the fresh ricotta.

I modified the traditional lattice crust for Valentines Day by cutting an open heart into the top lattice crust. After baking the cheesecake, I let it cool a bit and then I spread some good raspberry jam into the center of the heart for color and a little extra flavor.

Making the Italian ricotta cheesecake in the recipe below was even more fun for me than usual because I was able to use my new time-lapse photography software for my cell phone. If you want to see the video of my home cooked Italian ricotta cheesecake in the making, just click on the link below for the magic of Instagram!

Mix together with a fork gently and then your hands gently until the dough comes together to form a disk.

Pull off pieces of the dough and use this to line the bottom of a 9″ Springform pan. Reform the remainder of the dough into a disk and refrigerate in plastic wrap 30 minutes.

Pop into the oven and bake 8 – 10 minutes at 350°, or until lightly brown and set, but not cooked through.

Take out of oven and let cool before filling.

For the filling:

Using a large spoon or an electric mixer on low, gently mix together the ricotta cheese, sugar, flour salt, vanilla and lemon zest.

Add the 2 beaten eggs and mix gently to combine.

Pour the filling into the pre-baked, cooled crust in the Springform pan.

Take out the disk of reserved dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough out on a floured board.

Cut one side of the rolled out dough into 4 long strips and place each strip onto the periphery of the filling to create the four sides of a square. Cut out a heart the size to fit into the center of the square. (You can cut the heart out of paper at first until you get the right size and then use this as a stencil to trace when cutting the dough if you are not comfortable cutting the heart free hand. And if it doesn’t work the first time, just put the dough back together and try again!)

Place the cheesecake in the oven and bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until set and lightly brown on the edges.

Complete the Cheesecake:

Let the cheesecake cool a bit.

Sprinkle all over with powdered sugar.

For a special occasion such as Valentines Day, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam into the cheesecake, in the center of the heart and/or between the lattice crust.

Top with fresh raspberries if desired.

Let set in the refrigerator overnight or at least 3 hours before enjoying!

*How to Find Good Ricotta CheeseToday, I live near two small grocery store chains that make ricotta cheese fresh daily, and I would advise using this ricotta cheese instead of the mass produced (and preservative filled) ricotta cheese found on the shelves in most grocery stores. If you have access to good, farm-fresh milk, it is actually easy to make your own cheese – but that is the subject of another blog!

— by Kathryn Occhipinti

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of theConversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC

This famous Italian layered dessert, which literally means “pick-me-up,” was said to have originated when Italian ladies wanted a snack to get them through a long night of entertaining. Try our version, and we think you will agree that a piece of this dessert will add sparkle to any get-together or special celebration, whether for lunch, dinner, or the wee hours of the evening… Just follow our step-by-step instructions on how to make each component of the dessert, and assemble it all into the delicious layers that will form a kind of cake when refrigerated overnight.—Kathryn Occhipinti

Combine the espresso coffee, Marsala wine, and vanilla in a measuring cup.

Assemble the tiramisu (have the following ready):

Cream filling

Coffee syrup

2 (7 oz.) packages of lady finger cookies

3 Tbsp cocoa powder for dusting

Arrange 16 lady finger cookies in a 9″ x 13″ baking pan.

Pour 1 tsp of the coffee syrup on each cookie.

Spread ⅓ of the cream filling mixture over the cookies.

Dust with 1 Tbsp of the cocoa powder.

Repeat cookie layer, coffee syrup, cream filling mixture, and cocoa powder two more times, finishing with a layer of cream and a dusting of the cocoa powder on top.

Cover and refrigerate at least 5 hours or overnight to allow the cookies to absorb
moisture and flavor.

Cut into squares to serve and enjoy with a cup of espresso coffee!

—Adapted from the cooking classes given by the Italian-American Society of Peoria. Thanks to Rudy Litwin, IAS President in 2012, for this recipe!

Conversational Italian for Travelers Just the Important Phrases (with Restaurant Vocabulary and Idiomatic Expressions) is YOUR traveling companion in Italy! All the Italian phrases you need to know to enjoy your trip to Italy are right here and fit right into your pocket or purse.

Kathryn Occhipinti, MD, is the author of theConversational Italian for Travelersseries of books and a teacher of Italian for travelers to Italy in the Peoria and Chicago area.“Everything you need to know to enjoy your visit to Italy!”

Visitlearntravelitalian.com/download.html to purchase/download Conversational Italian for Travelers and find more interesting facts and helpful hints about getting around Italy!Learn how to buy train tickets online, how to make international and local telephone calls, and how to decipher Italian coffee names and restaurant menus, all while gaining the basic understanding of Italian that you will need to know to communicate easily and effectively while in Italy. —From the staff at Stella Lucente, LLC